Exposure - Kelly Moran Page 0,110

her away.

He got up on his hands and knees, his extremities so heavy, just as more EMTs sank next to him. He couldn't take his eyes from the direction Raven had gone. They tried getting him on a gurney, but he shoved them away. Need her.

"Mr. Caldwell." Max set a hand on his shoulder. "Let them take care of you. We'll be in an ambulance right behind Miss Crowne."

Shuddering, eyes wet with tears, he looked at his bodyguard. "Was she??live?" His voice broke.

Max's lips thinned, his eyes regret-laden. "I don't know."

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Sir, you came in hypothermic. You need to lay back."

Noah withdrew his arm from the nurse's clutches with barely restrained homicidal impatience. "Someone fucking tell me something! Is Raven okay?"

Sighing, the nurse relented. "Let me cap off the IV and I'll go find out."

Gnashing his teeth, he jerked a nod.

She removed the tubing from his arm, flushed the part still inserted in his vein, then taped the exposed portion. "All set. I'll go hunt up a doctor for you."

As she stepped out of the cubicle, Hintz strode in and tossed some clothes and shoes on the foot of the bed. "They don't know anything yet, sir."

Now that he was detached from the IV and heart monitors, Noah rose from the bed. Pain shot up his stiff legs, but he managed to keep upright. Shoving into the sweatpants Hintz brought, Noah shucked the hospital gown and pulled the tee over his head.

"It's been two hours." Noah fisted his still damp hair. He couldn't focus on anything but getting to Raven, seeing her with his own eyes. Remembering all her injuries, her fragile body and how it had been beaten, he slammed his eyes closed and tried to swallow past the lump in his throat.

McCannon walked in, assessed Noah with a once-over, and nodded. "You're looking better. Any news on Raven?"

He growled. "No." Plopping back on the bed, he fought the urge to trash the room in frustration. This was fucking torture. He reached for his shoes and put them on.

McCannon sat in a corner chair. "Soreno's dead."

Noah wanted to bring the bastard back to life just to kill him again. Slowly. He shook his head. Scratched his jaw. "Did you see her out there? What he did to her?" His voice came out more like a whisper. The sight of her hurt and broken haunted him, probably would until his dying day. "Christ, she has to pull through. She has to."

He didn't even know if she was alive. Figuring no news had to be good, he rubbed the back of his neck.

Hintz crossed his arms. "She's a strong lady, sir. She'll be okay."

Except his bodyguard didn't look any more confident than Noah felt. Pressing his palms to his eyes, he rocked forward.

"Mr. Caldwell?"

Jerking his gaze up, he launched off the bed to face the doctor. "Is she okay?"

In his late forties and wearing blue scrubs, the doctor looked around the room and back to him. He removed a cap to reveal dark brown waves. "Is it all right to speak in front of everyone?"

His gut twisted. Sank. Don't be dead, baby. Don't be dead.

Noah cleared his raw throat. "Yes."

"Let's start with the most serious first. The bullet went through her chest, below the shoulder. It just missed her lung and anything vital. It didn't require surgery. Because of her hypothermia, there was minimal blood loss. But?? The doctor tensed. "Her heart stopped once."

No. No, no, no.

The doctor raised his hand. "We were able to revive her in a short time, so that's a good sign. Her body temperature was very low, but through a warm IV and heating blankets, it's normal now." He sighed and looked down. "She has two broken ribs on the left side. They should heal in time on their own. The right side of her face was badly swollen, but there's no broken facial bones."

Noah breathed for the first time in hours. "I want to see her."

"They're getting her situated in ICU right now. I need to warn you. She's not out of the woods. She's hasn't gained consciousness yet and there's no telling if there will be any brain damage from her hypothermia or her heart stopping."

Noah was at the end of his rope. Clenching his fists, he met the doc's gaze. "I'm not leaving this hospital without her. Get this IV out. I want to see her."

"I'll send a nurse in with instructions."

Five minutes later, the same nurse finally returned. Biting back a string